The final two episodes of this series look at defining moments in U.S. history from 1945 on and trace them back to their antecedents in earlier American history. Some of the nation's most prominent personalities and leaders share their ideas on the definitive moments in American history, and reflect on what is unique about the U.S.

Mini-Task: Answer the following questions in your COMP books and be able and willing to discuss with the class.

What inventions do you think have been most important in U.S. history and why?

What do you think have been the five most important events in U.S. history since WWII?

Many historians debate whether or not the U.S. has seen continual progress throughout its history, or if there have been moments of back-peddling or regression. How do you define progress in history? Do you think the U.S. has always progressed? Discuss.

If you could interview one American about our nation’s past, who would it be and why?

Interesting Facts from America: The Story of Us:

The Greatest Generation built the Interstate Highway system in only 5 years.

They produced 80% of the world's cars.

They built 13 million homes in 10 years following the end of World War II and it cost only $71,000 in today's currency.

The Greatest Generation produced a baby (Baby Boomer Generation) every 10 seconds!

They made 15 times more than Europeans during this time.

The U.S. Army was desegregated in 1948.

The U.S. government spent an average of $4,000 ($20,000 today) per U.S. citizen on nuclear and military technology. While the average salary was $4,237 dollars ($24,000 today) in 1950.

Read p. 30-33 & 40-48 in your All The People mini-book and answer the Marshall Plan & McCarthyism questions in your COMP books:

How does the Marshall Plan prove a lot has been learned since the end of World War I? HINT: ThinkGermany!

Why do think the Soviet Union and countries controlled by the Soviet Union denied aid?

The Marshall Plan can be viewed as extremely unselfish, but what was the large benefit to the U.S. economy and manufacturing? In addition to your response, was there an additional agenda or motive for the Marshall Plan? HINT: Think Cold War!

that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred - the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many, the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue.A clash of very different beliefs and ideology - capitalism versus communism - each held with almost religious conviction, formed the basis of an international power struggle with both sides vying for dominance, exploiting every opportunity for expansion anywhere in the world.

The Korean War (The Forgotten War)

The Korean War began as a civil war between North and South Korea, but the conflict soon became international when, under U.S. leadership, the United Nations joined to support South Korea and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) entered to aid North Korea. The war left Korea divided and brought the Cold War to Asia. Read more:Office of the Historian: The Korean War

Read p.68-87 in your All The People mini-book and answer Birth of the Civil Rights Movement questions in your COMP books:

I know you remember the Supreme Court decision of Plessy v. Ferguson (see the Before Progress section far above), which stated "separate but equal" re-establishing segregation in the United States. Before the historic Brown v. Board of Education, Briggs v. Clarendon County challenged separate but equal by showing the vast difference in educational spending for black students compared to white students. So, how much was spent on black students compared to white students in Clarendon County in South Carolina?

What National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leader and great-grandson of a slave and later Supreme Court Justice, argued the Brown v. Board of Education case at the Supreme Court?

What was the Supreme Court's decision regarding the famous Brown v. Board of Education? What is the historical impact of this decision?

What was the Supreme Court's decision regarding Tinker v. Des Moines?

What did Mike King change his name to?

Name the two influential and enlightened thinkers that inspired Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sit-ins, peaceful protests, boycotts, and civil disobedience policies?

Where does Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. start his career as a preacher? [HINT: Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement]

What did Rosa Parks do as a member of the NAACP?

Why were members of the NAACP surprised at the arrest of Rosa Parks? How does the NAACP respond to Rosa Parks' arrest? Who led the boycott?

Was life like for the Melba Pattillo and the other nine African-Americans at Central High in Little Rock Arkansas after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision?

What did President Dwight D. Eisenhower do to secure the safe education for these African-Americans at Central High? Why didn't he act sooner?

Civil Rights Movement Continued

(Progressive and Violent)

Read p.97-104 in your All The People mini-book and answer the Civil Rights Movement Continued (Progressive and Violent) questions in your COMP books:

How did Birmingham, Alabama respond to the government attempts desegregate the city?

Who helped finance and elect Eugene "Bull" Connor as Birmingham Commissioner (Police Chief)? Why did residents of Birmingham, even those considered "kindhearted", support or allow the racist policies of "Bull" Connor?

BONUS: Can you tell us why Malcolm X is pictured here with Fidel Castro of Cuba (right)?

Civil Rights Movement Continued (A New Message)

Read p.120-127 and p.157-164 in your All The People mini-book and answer the Civil Rights Movement Continued (A New Message) questions in your COMP books:

The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

What award did Martin Luther King Jr. win at the young age of 35? What did he do with the prize money?

What did the Norwegian students teach or prove to Martin Luther King Jr.?

The 15th Amendment (see Reconstruction period above) guarantees that everyone has the right to vote. So, why didn't African Americans in Alabama and Mississippi vote in 1964? Why did Martin Luther King Jr. go to Selma, Alabama that same year?

What did Malcolm X mean by, "If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King"?

Why was the death of Jimmy Lee Jackson too much for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Civil Rights Movement to bear?

What happened on the Edmund Pettus Bridge between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama? How does the tragedy eventually help the Civil Rights Movement?

After the tragedy of Selma, known as "Bloody Sunday", how did President Lyndon B. Johnson respond on live television to over 70 million people?

As the Civil Rights Movement progressed, Martin Luther King Jr. viewed the struggles as more than an issue of race. The problems of the United States included poverty, sexism, and labor injustice. So why was Martin Luther King Jr. disappointed shortly after agreeing to a Poor People's Campaign? Why did he proceed to Memphis? HINT: Start reading p. 157

What did Martin Luther King Jr. mean by, "Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty and say if you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th Century, I will be happy"?

Who was responsible for the assassination of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968?

Who broke the news to African Americans in Indianapolis, which was televised to the entire nation? Violence erupted around the entire country almost immediately, but not in Indianapolis. Why do you suppose that is?

How many cities burst into riots after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.? How did the Black Panthers respond?

Which of the African Americans writers from 1940-1970, mentioned on pages 162-164, do you most admire? Why?

Death of another 1960s American icon! What made Robert "Bobby" Kennedy so popular as a presidential candidate in 1968? June 6, 1968, Bobby Kennedy was shot by Palestinian nationalist Sirhan Sirhan. What did the historian mean by, "Born the son of wealth, he died a champion of outcasts of the world"?

BONUS: I think most of us would like to believe that we would have followed the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. over that of his most famous contemporary Malcolm X, but if you were truly honest with yourself; could you really practice his non-violent methods or would the path of Malcolm X or the Black Panthers guide your frustration? Need help deciding? Try this Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Debate

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

- President John F. Kennedy

Read p.88-96 in your All The People mini-book and answer the Enter the 1960s questions in your COMP books:

Che Guevara

Who is the youngest President ever elected?

Who took power of Cuba two years before the election and inauguration of President John F. Kennedy? Who was the militant revolutionary from Argentina that helped the communist Cuban revolution? HINT:BBC: Che Guevara (1928 - 1967)

How and why was the small island country of Cuba a real threat to the U.S.A.?

Who took power as the Soviet Premier after the death of Joseph Stalin?

What was the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) plan, before the Bay of Pigs disaster, for dealing with Cuba? Was this President Kennedy's idea?

What did the critics of President Kennedy call him and his plans of civil rights, equal pay, and aid to the poor? HINT: Think same criticism of President Barack Obama and FDR

Premier Khrushchev said of President Kennedy, "It quickly became clear that he [Kennedy] understood...that an improvement in relations [with Russia] was the only rational course." How does this comment from Premier Khrushchev prove President Kennedy had survived the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis disasters and the U.S. could possibly survive the Cold War?

Why did President Kennedy decide to visit Texas in November of 1963, despite his press secretary's warning, "DON'T LET THE PRESIDENT COME TO DALLAS...IT IS TOO DANGEROUS"?

How did the people of Texas greet the President and his wife?

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. According to the Warren Commission's Report who was the lone assassin? HINT:History.com: Warren Commission

Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will ever know whether Oswald acted alone because he was silenced two days after the death of the President, by whom? Why did he kill Oswald? HINT: History.com: Ruby kills Oswald

Conspiracy Time! So who really killed President Kennedy? HINT: Try Death of a President (again) JFK Resources below to help you decide.

Vietnam War, (1954–75), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Called the “American War” in Vietnam (or, in full, the “War Against the Americans to Save the Nation”), the war was also part of a larger regional conflict (see Indochina Wars) and a manifestation of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. Read more: Encyclopedia Britannica: Vietnam War

MORE COMING SOON

DBQ on Vietnam (discussion): Use the DBQ on Vietnam: History Teacher.net link, answer the following questions in your COMP books and be ready and willing to share with the class: Did the attitudes and policies of the United States government regarding the war in Viet Nam (1965-1975) reflect the attitudes of the American people during the time of the war? Why or why not? Include present-day opinions and facts about the war in assessing this question as well as the documents.

The American Counterculture refers to the period between 1964-1972 when the norms of the 1950s were rejected by the youth. Counterculture youth rejected the cultural standards of their parents, especially with respect to racial segregation (Civil Rights Movement), the Vietnam War (Anti-War Protests), sexual norms (start of the LGBT Movement here), women's rights (a rebirth in the movement), and materialism (see the SDS and Weather Underground). Hippies were the largest countercultural classification comprising mostly white members of the middle class. The counterculture movement divided the country. Authorities attempted to ban all drug use (start the War on Drugs here), restricted political gatherings, and tried to enforce bans on what they considered obscenity in books, music, theater, and other media. Parents argued with their children and worried about their safety. Some adults accepted elements of the counterculture, while others became estranged from sons and daughters. The movement died in the early 1970s because most of their goals had become mainstream, and because of rising economic troubles.

The Counterculture (Music) Task: Music in the 1960s becomes more political in nature. Your task is to discover a musician of the 1960s and find a song that embodies the Counterculture Movement (read above). Share that song with the class, it's meaning including specific lyrical examples. You can find any musician, from the era, you want, but here is a list of musicians to consider. If you find it difficult to select a musician or song, also see Counterculture Resources:

BONUS: Of course, there is another side to the Counterculture and the best; I mean most terrifying and evil example would probably have to be Charles Manson. If you are interested in these horrific stories, I suggest starting here: The Charles Manson (Tate-LaBianca Murder) TrialNOTE: Don't try to understand or find an explanation because, there is not a good answer. Need proof? Try this: Charles Manson's Epic Answer

Cesar Chavez

Senator Robert F. Kennedy described Cesar Chavez as

"one of the heroic figures of our time."

A true American hero, Cesar was a civil rights, Latino and farm labor leader; a genuinely religious and spiritual figure; a community organizer and social entrepreneur; a champion of militant nonviolent social change; and a crusader for the environment and consumer rights.

A first-generation American, he was born on March 31, 1927, near his family's small homestead in the North Gila River Valley outside Yuma, Arizona. At age 11, his family lost their farm during the Great Depression and became migrant farm workers. Throughout his youth and into adulthood, Cesar traveled the migrant streams throughout California laboring in the fields, orchards and vineyards, where he was exposed to the hardships and injustices of farm worker life.

After attending numerous schools as the family migrated, Cesar finished his formal education after the eighth grade and worked the fields full-time to help support his family. Although his formal education ended then, he later satisfied an insatiable intellectual curiosity and was self-taught on an eclectic range of subjects through reading during the rest of his life.

Cesar joined the U.S. Navy in 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, and served in the Western Pacific. He returned from the service in 1948 to marry Helen Fabela, whom he met while working in fields and vineyards around Delano. Together they settled in the East San Jose barrio of Sal Si Puedes (Get Out if You Can), and had eight children, later enjoying 31 grandchildren.

Please choose a category below to read more information about Cesar Chavez:

In 1960, the world of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace. A woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her early 20s, start a family quickly, and devote her life to homemaking. As one woman at the time put it, "The female doesn't really expect a lot from life. She's here as someone's keeper — her husband's or her children's." As such, wives bore the full load of housekeeping and child care, spending an average of 55 hours a week on domestic chores. They were legally subject to their husbands via "head and master laws," and they had no legal right to any of their husbands' earnings or property, aside from a limited right to "proper support"; husbands, however, would control their wives' property and earnings. If the marriage deteriorated, divorce was difficult to obtain, as "no-fault" divorce was not an option, forcing women to prove wrongdoing on the part of their husbands in order to get divorced. Read more:Tavanna.org: THE 1960S-70S AMERICAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS FOR WOMEN